Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time of year. Although ours was 6 weeks ago, I am reminded of this heart warming holiday today, which is American Thanksgiving. Families gather and enjoy themselves over food, wine and good times. They give thanks for what they have been blessed with or achieved over the past year and a general attitude of gratitude is emulated.

I assume Thanksgiving is much of the same way in the U.S. as it is here. I envision families gathered together, watching NFL, while homes are filled with loved ones and the warm and cozy smell of turkey dinner fills the house. It is a pre-cursor to Christmas and the upcoming Holiday season.

AND THEN…the next day we get…

Even now in Canada, we’ve added Black Friday to our shopping malls, so we keep the consumers spending here. There are some people that I know who don’t understand why we’ve brought it here, but the popular argument is that it’s positive, as we are keeping the spending in our own economy. Now is a very busy time to shop, leading up to the holidays and of course everyone wants a deal…but should we have Black Friday here? Or should we leave it to the Americans?

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Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

When we are in the market of buying a home, most of us walk through and picture ourselves living there. We envision taking off our shoes, relaxing on the couch and what it would be like to cook in the kitchen. We visualize our current home and hope that this new house will only enrich our lives. If prospective buyers have the ability to emulate these positive emotions, the house will tend to get more viewers and sell much quicker.

If your house is vacant, it is recommended that you show it to it’s full potential by having it staged. Houses that are shown empty often seem cold, small and less inviting.

As you can see from these two images, the space needed something in it to make it feel more like home, instead of a wide open, empty canvas. With the help of Catherine LeBlanc at Ambiance Home Staging this house achieved just what it needed to feel cosier, brighter and lived in.
After

Choosing to have your home staged professionally can save you time, effort and and earn you more money by increasing your return on investment. If your furniture is still in the house, hiring a stager will also be beneficial as they will see design possibilities that the seller may not. De-cluttering and making the house appear more neutral is always a plus. Buyers want to see a house that they could unpack their bags and begin living in, so perhaps tuck away the family photos and personalized items that remind them it is not their house.

A finance poll from AOL Money stated, “87% of people said that home presentation makes a difference in most sales.” Staging can add great value to your real estate property and is a better alternative to price reduction.

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Well, winter is here!

There are a number of great things you can do to save on energy costs through the winter.

The City of Burlington is hosting a FREE energy efficiency event next Tuesday, Nov. 25th 7-9 p.m. at the Burlington Public Library (2331 New St)

Click HERE for full details to the free info seminar!

Here are our Top 5 simple things you can start doing today!

1. Put on an extra sweater

There is no reason why you should be walking around in shorts and a t-shirt mid winter. Take advantage of the cooler weather and layer up in your cozy slippers and favourite blanket.

2. Light the fireplace

There is nothing cozier than wrapping up warm and sitting in front of a real fire. If you have a gas fireplace, this is just as good! Gather some loved ones or a good book and relax by the fire. You’ll feel much warmer very quickly!

3. Learn about your electrical usage

Knowing what is and isn’t making big demands on your electrical supply is the first step to conservation. A good rule to follow is use a smaller appliance (ie. a kettle to boil water vs. a stove). Try not to overuse energy-sucking appliances such as heaters, a FAR better use to generate localized heat would be a heating blanket.

4. Lower your Thermostat when you don’t need it

There are two times in the day when you can drop your heat.
During the day when the house is empty and overnight when the family is asleep.
During these times, your furnace does not need to be pumping out the room temperature 71 degree average. I recommend setting your thermostat to 60 during the day (the sun will help keep it warm) and 65 overnight. This drop in temperature maintains house warmth significant enough, but will cut your costs more than you can imagine. For best results, program your thermostat to 60 for the time you leave the house in the morning and 65 at bedtime. Make sure it is programmed to return to the average of 71 about 90 minutes before arriving home from school/work and 90 minutes prior to waking up. (However, in a deep freeze – colder than minus 20, beware of not turning the heat down too much as pipes may be prone to freezing).

5. Seal any leaks, especially draughty windows

Look for places that have a draught. Caulk leaks around windows, door frames, pipes or any point that goes through the outside wall. Apply plastic over draughty windows, especially in the basement. These inexpensive kits are sold at Canadian Tire or Home Depot and drastically help reduce cold air flowing in.

Hope those few tips help. Any further questions or concerns, please call us directly on 905-333-6234

Stay warm this winter!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Are you looking to sell your house this winter?

The first snow fall yesterday confirmed that winter is in fact on it’s way. I had secretly hoped it may forget about visiting us this year, but alas…

Here are some top winter selling tips from Keller Williams

1. Take photos of the house on sunny days before the clouds take over and the leaves fall from the trees. Sellers want to be sure to show the full potential and beauty of the home. Reach out to clients now and suggest they get photos taken of their home in preparation for cold weather selling.

2. Create a virtual video tour of the home. In areas where the weather can get be especially stormy, offering potential buyers the opportunity to first see the home from the comfort of their own computer is helpful.

3. When hosting an open house, be sure to keep walkways and driveways clear. You don’t want any potential buyers to slip and fall on their way inside the home.

4. Keep the house warm. A warmer inside temperature will keep potential buyers inside longer. If someone will be in the home for a while, consider lighting a small fire in the fireplace to further warm the home and create an inviting space away from the cold.

5. Keep window curtains and blinds open to let in as much light as possible.

6. Create an atmosphere. In cooler months, you have the option to invite buyers to stay a little longer and enjoy a warm beverage and winter foods. Take this as an opportunity to really make them feel at home, and hopefully soon, they will be.

Another advantage of selling homes in the winter is the warmth and cheer of the holiday season. The holidays are a time for family, friends and gatherings. Create an environment that conveys the joy that has been shared in the home so buyers will be eager to move in and make their own memories. Avoid listing homes the week of Christmas as buyers take that time off to enjoy the holidays. So, as the weather cools down, remember to use these tips to keep your potentials buyers interested.

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Burlington is such a stunning place to live, but Christmas truly makes our home city magical.

Don’t miss out on any magic this holiday season!

An abundance of talented community members have worked tirelessly to bring us all some great events to enjoy.

Shop the Neighbourhood is a creative incentive encouraging people to support our downtown core. This helps strengthen our city and supports small, artisan, local businesses. Stroll through the quaint downtown streets, enjoy some creative food and perhaps purchase a truly one-of-a-kind gift for a loved one – it’s win/win for everyone!

Shop the neighbourhood Runs NOW through until November 30th!
The BIG EVENT is NOVEMBER 30th – when we will Paint the Town YELLOW!

Kicking off tomorrow with a unique arts and crafts sale at the Art Gallery, this holiday season there are an abundance of Burlington Christmas Events taking place all over the city!

Lastly, the VERY popular Burlington Christmas House Tour is this weekend! There may still be some tickets available

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Fall is always a stunning time to take photographs. We are so lucky to call this beautiful city of Burlington home and as the years go on I appreciate what Burlington has to offer more and more. Being blessed with lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment, the farms and wildlife, one could sometimes forget we are in a city.

The diversity of Burlington and the people who live here is another beautiful attraction. Last week we launched our fall photo contest and we are very pleased that people are sharing with us How They Live in our beautiful city.

Our photo contest runs until Monday November 10th and we are very excited to give away a LUXURY grand prize to the photo with the top votes.

Win A two-night stay at the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville, Toronto! The Hazelton Hotel, dubbed “Toronto’s Most Exclusive Hotel”, is very popular with celebrities when they come into town. It is sure to make you feel like one too!

To enter the contest, please upload your photo via Facebook. Please make sure you tag us #LoveHowYouLiveKP share your photo on all your social media, get the most votes and win this exquisite 2 night stay!

It really is that easy!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Your Tuesday News Update

For the past month, as I am sure you have noticed, election signs have littered the lawns all over Burlington. We have had lots of candidates interested in having a hand in making our beautiful city better. I speaking for others, but so many folks in the community have such pride and love for this great city and I know we are all after the same goal of improving it for the benefit of everyone.

For our Burlington Elections, emphasis was placed on improving transit and outdated retail spaces (which would always be a plus!) Also, maintaining Burlington’s reputation as best mid-sized city in Canada, while adding density.

Upon being re-elected, Rick Goldring said a top goal was to progress with Burlington’s Community Energy Plan.

• “It’s such an all-encompassing plan that includes how we build our communities, how we generate our energy … A big issue we need to keep going on is job creation, economic development, as well as our storm water and sanitary sewer infrastructure,” Goldring said.

While Burlington has little available land for development, Goldring stated that he wants to focus on land surrounding GO stations to utilise the space to its maximum ability, bringing jobs to the area, while keeping our greenspace open for enjoyment.

During the August

2014 flood crisis, it was highlighted at how the city needed infrastructure renewal, with the storm contributing to an estimated $83 million in flood damage.

Re-election seemed to be the name of the game in the Halton Region as mayors of Milton, Oakville, Halton Hills and Burlington were all re-elected.

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Bank of Canada Sees Evidence of Soft Landing in Housing Market CREA

The Bank of Canada announced on January 22nd 2014 that it was keeping its trend-setting overnight lending rate at 1 per cent, where it has been held since September 2010.

Since the Bank’s last announcement in early December, inflation in Canada has moved even further below the Bank’s 2 per cent target. Moreover, the Bank indicated it is now expected to remain lower for even longer and not return to target for “about two years.”

Click here for full article

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

Date: March 29, 2014

Time: 1:00 PM – 1:40 PM

Location: At Tansley United Church, 2111 Walkers Line, Burlington

Tickets $10.00/child
Adults are complimentary

Tickets available at the door.

For questions contact: christine.poe@sympatico.ca

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.